I held the dress Grandma had just sent me. There was nothing wrong with it, I suppose; lots of frills and pretty ribbons. My grip tightened on the fabric as my mouth formed into a thin solid line. It was nice of her to give it to me; it was nice…. I tossed it to the other side of the bathroom floor, staring down at it for a minute before gazing at my reflection in the mirror. I saw that I still wasn't smiling.

With an almost emotionless expression, I went to put pink dusting powder in my hair and lotion on my hands. I may not wear makeup as Grandma would have me, but I loved smelling good. It was the only beauty I trusted, my eyes returned to their reflection; that and my hair. Everything else… my hand reached up to gently pass through one of my long red curls. Even my hair…. Physical beauty is such a gamble.

"Darling? Darling, are you upstairs?" Daddy called out for me. I perked up as I heard him come up the stairs and into my bedroom. I gingerly threw my shower towel over my new dress and dashed out of the door before he could see. "Hi Daddy! You're home early from work." "I got off early today," he greeted me with a smile. I came over to give him a hug and kiss on the cheek; that was our usual way of greeting each other. "I brought you something," my beloved father then opened and reached into his briefcase. A grin rolled across my face as he pulled out what appeared to be a perfume bottle. "Here, it's for you." "Thank you," I took the bottle to give it a quick sniff; it smelt like flowers and citrus.

"What is it?" "My company's been working on some new scents for the spring. Do you like it?" "I do!" I didn't hesitate to spray some onto myself. "Good because I crafted this special for you," Daddy's grin widened in delight. "Really?!" I blinked to him wide-eyed. "Uh huh. I'm calling it "Goddess", after my goddess." "Awe, Daddy! That is so sweet; I love it!" My arms wrapped tightly around his neck again. "Glad you like it, sweetheart. You can have as much as you want; it'll always be free for you." "Thanks; that's very generous of you." "Anything for my darling girl," he tucked some stray hairs behind my ear. "Now! What's for dinner? I'm starving!" His hands then rubbed excitedly together. "How does macaroni with leftover chicken sound? And a cupcake for dessert." "Sounds great. You know how to treat a man."

Leonardo's P.O.V.-

I told patrol on the north side of the city tonight. Kraang and Foot Clan activity had been sparse lately, so Donnie had this "fantastic" idea to split up. Supposedly we'd find more stuff if we spread out. Joke's on him; his brilliant plan hadn't worked at all. We'd been going out on our own for over a week now and still nothing. The others were starting to complain about it too.

Gees, I came to a halt when I landed on the top of another skyrise's rooftop. Those guys complain when we're together and apart; nothing is ever just right for them. What did they expect me to do? Psychically know where the Kraang or Shredder were? I'm the leader; not a magician. That said, maybe they had a point. Going out on our own wasn't doing anything; we might as well stick together. It was more entertaining than spending all these hours alone.

Well, I let out a huge sigh. There's nothing out here. Might as well… But before I could even finish my thought, just like some merciful magic, two Kraang droids appeared seemingly out of nowhere down on the sidewalk below me. They were the first I'd seen in a long time; needless to say, I was more than a little excited. I was about to jump on down for a much-needed fight until a surprizing voice caught me off guard. It wasn't talking to me; it was meant for the Kraang, who immediately perked up turning to face the source. I watched wide-eyed to see this teenage girl exit out of one of the buildings. To my shock, she was actually smiling at the Kraang droids; not a sinister grin, just a pleasant smile. I was so dumbfounded that I found myself observing the interaction with my jaw hanging open.

"Mr. Kran," she said in her sweet, innocent, feminine voice. "Ah, it is the one known as Miss Lovely." One droid said. "You are the one that is Mr. Lovely's descendant," the other noted. They know her? My eyebrow rose in confusion and suspicion. "Uh, yeah," the girl rubbed the back of her head awkwardly. "Come to see Daddy?" "Affirmative. Is the one known as Mr. Lovely inside the lab?" "Yes, he's inside. I just brought him some dinner." Does she know she's talking to a robot? She must; no humans talk or sound like that. But still, why was she talking to them in the first place? And more puzzlingly, why were they talking instead of shooting at her? What the heck was going on?! She simply kept smiling at them like she was trying hard to be polite, like a kid meeting their dad's boss or something.

"Are you going to the place that is known as home now, Miss Lovely?" "Yes sir. I just came to see Daddy; sounds like he'll be working late again tonight." "You are a satisfactory offspring," that was the closest thing I'd ever heard the Kraangs come to a compliment. "Uh t-thank you," her hand shyly rubbed the back of her neck again. "Well I should get home. Nice seeing you again, Mr. Kran," I noticed her hold out her hand for the droid. They immediately stepped back, surprising me a little. Then they quickly scooted around her from a distance, going into the building without another word. She looked equally stunned but shook her head and begun strolling down the street.

It took me a few seconds to comprehend what I had just witnessed. Those were definitely Kraang bots but…. who the heck was she?! By the looks of it, she had no idea who she was conversing with. Maybe she thought they were off but probably wouldn't guess they were aliens from outer space. In fact, she looked downright innocent about the exchange. Oh great, a frown started to roll across my lips. What was I supposed to do with that information? Just tell the others "oh, I saw a young girl talk to the Kraang like two normal humans while out on patrol"? Huh, no; that didn't seem like a good idea. But I did have to tell them that I knew were the Kraang were hiding out now…. but what about her?! Who was she?! And how did she meet the Kraang? My head was swimming with questions.

The questions just kept coming as I gazed down to see her walk away. Now what? I contemplated keeping her in view. Should I follow her? No, that's creepy. Still, she knows who the Kraang are, without really knowing them. What if she knows more? What if she knows something useful? Maybe… maybe it wouldn't be so wrong to trail her. No, wait; what the heck am I thinking? Of course I have follow her! Despite if she knows the Kraang are aliens or not, her behavior is still suspicious. After a moment to recompose myself, I set off to shadow the mysterious girl; it was almost too easy to follow her unseen.

I followed her all the way to an apartment building which she unlocked and entered without checking behind her. The longer I watched her, the stranger this feeling surged in my chest; it was like bubbles, warm bubbles. She was cute; beautiful even. I was able to really get a good look at her before she went inside. Long curly red hair and pale skin with deep red lips. And those eyes; those endless blue eyes. She wasn't dressed like a normal teenage girl, wearing instead boy clothes. But that didn't detract from her loveliness; if anything, it directed attention to her natural beauty, to which she had much. She was completely unaware of my presence, or at least I thought she was.

I tried to figure out which apartment was hers once she had disappeared inside. But I didn't have to guess for long. I blinked alarmed at the sudden window opening near my eyelevel. The window opened and a fresh, sweet scent perfumed the air. Her head popped out and before I realized what was happening, she spotted me. In one single moment, she caught me off guard and she stared at me like she didn't know whether to believe her own eyes. She saw me! Panic began to coil around my heart. Oh crap! What am I going to do now?! She actually saw me!

Before I could do anything, her rose red lips parted a little like she had to draw in a breath. From where I was standing, I could tell that she was breathing heavily. She had a conflicted expression; reluctantly curious and a little frightened. Her little hand rose to cover her mouth; I think to keep herself from screaming. And we merely stayed like that for a long minute, staring with large eyes silently at each other.

I had no idea what to do; I honestly didn't have a clue. And judging by her reaction, neither did she. Eventually she lowered her hand to reveal the tiniest of smiles; it was slight, but I could see it. The mystery girl raised her other hand to give a shy wave, which I did not return. Then, with her smile slowly but surely growing, she reached up to close the window, followed by the blinds. I waited for a second before taking a much-needed deep breath. My feet had to guide me back to the lair because my head was still spinning. It didn't feel real, what just happened. A human girl- a teenage human girl- saw me; she saw me and smiled. She smiled at me… The same girl who encountered the Kraang and came out alive. Oh god, I had so many questions.

I got back to the lair to find Raphael already back; he was lounging around inside with a comic book in his green hands. He didn't even look at me when I came in. "Hey, bro." "And what are you doing home? We're supposed to be patrolling, Raph," I asked, planting a hand on my hip. "Got bored; didn't find anything." "Uh huh," my eyes rolled. I thought about telling him about my own experience but refrained; this didn't feel like the right time. "Anyways, where's Mikey and Donnie?" "How should I know? You're our leader." "Raph," I sighed. "I think Donnie's in his lab and Mikey, no clue." "Thanks," satisfied with this half-hearted answer, I went towards Donnie's laboratory. Raph wasn't going to be any help tonight but maybe Donnie…

Darling's P.O.V.-

I think I'm going crazy. I thought I just saw a gigantic man-sized turtle outside; a turtle armed with swords. But that's impossible; there's no such thing as oversized turtles, especially ones that wield swords. Still, I peered out of my curtain to see nothing. He either left or my mind really is playing tricks on me. Or maybe I accidently ingested something; perhaps a hallucinogenic. I sincerely doubted that I'd ever see the turtle again, I thought as I fell onto my bed over the soft pink covers. If he's real, he'll likely avoid me like the plague now, and if not real, it was probably a one-time episode. Still, I couldn't get his shimmering blue eyes out of my mind. They looked so real, so… alive. And they were fixed on me; they saw me, just like I saw him. If they were real, that is…...